Tag Archives: tone

We all come to the table with emotional intelligence – that impacts vital choices we make to progress or regress. Did you know that your brain’s amygdala holds every good and bad choice you’ll make today? Or are you aware that stored responses pop back up to become emotional choices… Read more »

Would you agree that tone tools can create goodwill and amp up any learning community? I’m referring to the body language of communication here – the tone tools that bring a smile of inclusion or adds a snub of rejection. Tone benefits embody the warmth of thanks, while its lack… Read more »

Most leaders and faculty agree that to capitalize on the brain’s known abilities is to create a climate for high performance minds. Most learners agree that care and support can transform ordinary learning into fun-filled adventures and delightful discoveries. Sadly though, science about brains and observation of failed cultures sheds… Read more »

While we now know that students retain less from lectures, we question how to cultivate brain based cultures that trigger observable and impressive growth. Good news! It’s actually easier than most realize – to get older students active and growing in any class! Enter six little namungos with big brainy… Read more »

Imagine a learning and leading circle not handcuffed to past sarcasms that exclude some, but freed with humor that benefits all! Build mental muscle that transforms sarcasm into humor that fosters learning and raises IQ for many! People who enjoy sarcasm defend its harsh, bitter derision as mere irony and… Read more »

Luckily we can overcome our brain’s default for ruts that foster poor tone as evidenced in many conflicts – to create instead – tone for an innovative world order forward. 1. Affirm another person’s thoughts before sharing your views on the other side – to show that you really heard,… Read more »

How do you handle personal attacks? It could be anything from a boss ignoring your ideas, to a peer who respects you in public – only to destroy you behind your back. Has it happened to you? It’s easier to teach brain-compatible tone skills to others, than to model them… Read more »

If you agree that democracy as we deem it – can make a mockery of human engagement – you likely also see value in facilitation that communicates across differences. Few disagree that a well run democracy adds immense brainpower by raising worker engagement. Yet Gallop Management Journal surveyed annual worker… Read more »

(Appeared in Smart Brief on Your Career on April 22, 2010) (Appeared in (Practicing Law Institute) PLI Smart Brief April23,2010). See innovative meetings e-handbook here for dozens of practical strategies that bring meetings alive where you work. When bullies pop an irate question or cynics insist on opinions that provoke… Read more »

It happens faster than you can wrap your head around replies, much less pause for peaceful solutions. Tonic or toxin? Poor tone shoots poison at others, and often wings back in the same form it was sent. Politicians, like Senator Bayh, quit Congress over tone toxins. Have you seen it… Read more »

Did you know that emotions survive after memories vanish? Or do you wonder what moods and behavior heads or hearts control? Yesterday, on a walk in the woods with a gifted young leader, I once again saw his ethics, openness and willingness to become vulnerable in order to learn new… Read more »

Have you noticed people who speak meta-messages that leave victims running for escape hatches? You begin to question flaws between their lines because what you hear is not what the speaker means. How does it happen? People who lack interpersonal intelligence, tend to use meta-messages instead of honest communications, and… Read more »

Have you ever observed a skilled facilitator use tone tools to turn around a tough situation? Tone skills open mental gateways both to speak ethically and to feel heard. They also communicate respect across differences, and find winning solutions within opposing views. What’s your tone IQ? People who engage others,… Read more »

Imagine a climate of peace, with language that inspires, and people who cheer on your talents. Would you agree that peace would have been a better plan than war in most cases you’ve observed? Not a passive peace, but a robust plan where many angles from different viewpoints move forward… Read more »

I’ve been trying to tap into better tone skills in difficult settings, and find I still have a distance to go to snip that amygdala before it snipes back. It’s often a matter of reflecting on tools to move forward with respect rather than frustration. Did you know, for instance… Read more »

Watch your tone, or prepare for a fight with cynics the next time a disagreement arises! Have you noticed how highly successful people use tone to advance their lives and communities? Or how ineffective people clobber brainpower all around them? It’s no coincidence since tone is the fuel that drives… Read more »

How we situate images of war affects how our brains wire to support or reject it. Replace words such as war on terror with expressions that grow stronger communities, and our brains shift from expectations of violence to proposals for peace across differences. Imagine a place of prosperity where no… Read more »

Today, I arrived home late to discover a bill marked OVERDUE PAYMENT from Verizon Wireless for their broadband service I tried at their request and then returned a few days later. Yikes! The free trial ad had clearly touted an invitation to try their service free of charge for 30… Read more »

While some leaders literally wire their brains for gridlock and compromise that can poison communications, it’s also true that disagreements can blast open doors to life-changing ethical insights. When people differ with the brain in mind, they build goodwill among those who differ. How so? If you’ve ever benefited from… Read more »

Whenever you cotton onto the notion that people or problems diminish you, that self-critique begins to bury your brain’s tools for excellence. In contrast, your brain holds hidden reflection equipment to build visions that develop confidence and take risks to achieve mind-bending results. Yes, regardless of other’s impressions of your… Read more »